The New Chardonnay: The Unlikely Story of How Marijuana Went Mainstream

Journalist Cabot (coauthor, Geek Girl Rising) delivers an admiring examination of shifting attitudes toward cannabis and of the activists and entrepreneurs behind that change. Cabot follows Beth Stavola, a New Jersey mom of six and former Wall Street executive, as she invests in Arizona’s medical marijuana industry and expands into well-appointed dispensaries in Nevada and Maryland. Cabot also showcases unexpected legalization advocates, such as former U.S. attorney and devout Mormon Mel McDonald, who changed his opinion on marijuana after seeing how it helped his son’s chronic epilepsy. Readers also meet Bruce Linton, the “Willy Wonka of Weed,” so dubbed because he opened up what would become the world’s largest growing facility in a former Hershey’s chocolate processing plant in Smiths Falls, Ontario; and “cannabis chef” Jeff Danzer, whose tasteless, odorless, but precisely dosable cannabinoid oil enabled him to create gourmet food and drink experiences with a mild THC buzz. The diversity and respectability of these entrepreneurs helps to underscore Cabot’s central argument that “Chardonnay moms” looking to “shrug off the day” or to maximize their “wellness” are the new target market for cannabis products, and her clear affection for and appreciation of her subjects makes for juicy reading. Those seeking an agnostic investigation of these developments, though, should look elsewhere. (Aug.)